Investigation finds no evidence Medical Examiner 'butchered' bodies during autopsy

Both the Medical Examiners Commission and Florida Department of Law Enforcement have completed investigations into allegations that the office of District 1 Medical Examiner Dr. Deanna Oleske “butchered” and mishandled bodies during autopsy, and both investigations concluded that the complaints are unfounded based on lack of evidence.

The Medical Examiners Commission review found that “there is a lack of evidence to sustain grounds for discipline” as outlined in state law. In addition, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement determined that a separate investigation into a criminal complaint of “abuse of a dead body,” found there was also “a lack of evidence to show that a criminal violation occurred.”

The MEC’s findings were described in a letter sent to District 1 State Attorney Ginger Madden from Medical Examiners Commission Chair, Dr. Barbara C. Wolf, dated March 1, 2024.

In the correspondence, Wolf said her staff investigated information provided by the State Attorney’s Office “concerning allegations of negligence in the performance of her duties as medical examiner.”

Wolf outlined the steps her staff took including contacting Pensacola area funeral homes Trahan Family Funeral Home, Waters & Hibbert Funeral Home and Pensacola Memorial Gardens and Funeral Home.

A year ago, the owners and directors of those funeral homes sent letters to Escambia County commissioners expressing their concerns about the District 1 Medical Examiner’s Office, including the condition of bodies when they leave the office after autopsy.

Their allegations included that bodies were transported in torn, leaking bags, that there was trash in the bags as well as body cavities, and that remains weren’t as clean as they could be, among other issues.

Wolf said her staff requested specific names and/or case numbers from the funeral homes to substantiate allegations made in the correspondence. MEC staff said they received a list of nine names, and they reached out to the District 1 Medical Examiner’s Office and requested all information on the same cases.

“MEC staff and I thoroughly reviewed all of the information and medical examiner documentation of these nine cases and determined that there was no evidence to support a violation of Chapter 406, Florida Statutes, Rule 11G, Florida Administrative Code, or the Practice Guidelines for Florida Medical Examiners,” Wolf wrote in her letter to Madden.

The law Wolf referenced outlines what the state requires to investigate medical examiners when faced with accusations pertaining to disposition of human remains and determine if any wrongdoing has occurred.

The FDLE also investigated a complaint of “abuse of a dead body” filed last year by Pensacola widower Montague Haight over the condition of his deceased husband’s body. The investigation determined there was no criminal violation.

Haight alleged in a letter to then Escambia County Commissioner Robert Bender that the body of his husband, Richard Hutson, was "cut down all of his limbs to the bone or past," his chest was wide open, and a normal "Y" incision did not appear to have been used.

He also said Hutson's head was cut on the back side from ear to ear and his scalp was still pulled over his face. Haight said the condition of Hutson’s body “stole” his last opportunity to say good-bye.

However, in documentation obtained by the Medical Examiner’s Office through a public record’s request, FDLE reported an “exit photo,” or picture taken of Hutson’s face and head at the medical examiner’s office prior to transport to Trahan Funeral Home, showed his face intact.

The Medical Examiner’s Office told FDLE no photos of Hutson’s limbs were taken because “nothing had been done to them during the autopsy.”

According to Trahan and Haight, no procedures were performed on Hutson's body at the funeral home, but they did not take any pictures of Hutson in the condition Haight described.

Based on the “conflicting information” and “lack of evidence” to substantiate the allegations, FDLE determined there was nothing to support a criminal violation and “no further action was taken.”

What sparked the investigations into the D1 Medical Examiners Office?   

In April 2023, the owners and directors of Pensacola Memorial Gardens and Funeral Home, Waters & Hibbert and Trahan Family Funeral Home sent letters to Escambia County commissioners listing several complaints about the Medical Examiner's Office.

Their issues included the condition of bodies after autopsy being “butchered,” unclean and placed in bags that leak, as well as delays with filing paperwork or listing misleading or inaccurate causes of death. Accusations the Medical Examiner's Office said were largely "not substantiated."

Prior to writing the letters, Richard “Rick” Bailey, Jr., owner and funeral director in charge of Waters& Hibbert, said he and three other Pensacola-based funeral directors met with Escambia County Commissioner Steven Barry at a restaurant owned by one of Barry’s family members to discuss their ongoing concerns.

Previously: Funeral homes complain to Escambia County bodies are being “butchered” in autopsy

During that meeting, Bailey said that Barry and another funeral director encouraged them to write letters to the commission outlining their complaints, although complaints against medical examiners are handled by the state.

The funeral home directors said they never intended for their letters to become public, but once they were sent to the county, the letters became public record and Escambia County Commissioner Jeff Bergosh posted portions of them to his personal blog, where he discusses county business.

At the time, Escambia County commissioners were pushing back against a proposal to build a new, multi-million-dollar Medical Examiner’s Office facility in Santa Rosa County.

The main facility for District 1 has historically been located in Escambia County, the largest individual user of medical examiner services in the four-county area.

Escambia Commissioners have since signed off on building the new facility in Santa Rosa County.

In May 2023, then commissioner Robert Bender said he also received Haight’s letter about his concerns over the treatment of his husband’s body.

The Medical Examiners Commission and FDLE investigated the issues raised in the letters.

Medical Examiner’s defamation lawsuit against funeral homes ongoing

In June 2023, District 1 Medical Examiner Dr. Deanna Oleske filed a lawsuit against two of the funeral home directors who wrote letters.

It accuses Jerald Mitchell, director of Pensacola Memorial Gardens and Funeral Home, and Richard Trahan, director of Trahan Family Funeral Home, of libel and/or defamation, tortious interference, and civil conspiracy.

In the lawsuit, Oleske said the men’s claims were politically motivated to influence where the new medical examiner’s facility would be built.

Both Mitchell and Trahan deny the allegations and are arguing to have the lawsuit dismissed.

Oleske’s attorneys have filed a motion for default against the defendants for lack of proper response to her allegations, but the two maintain they have “zealously” defended themselves against the accusations and that there was no malice in how they expressed their opinions of how the Medical Examiner’s Office handled bodies.

The next hearing in the lawsuit is scheduled for April 12, in Escambia County court.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Medical Examiner Deanna Oleske cleared of botched autopsy allegations